Promoting School Readiness in the Context of Socio-Economic Adversity: Associations with Parental Demoralization and Support for Learning

Background

Existing research suggests that parenting stress and demoralization, as well as provision of learning activities at home, significantly affect child school readiness. However, the degree to which these dimensions of parenting uniquely influence child school readiness remains unclear.

Objective

This study tested the hypothesis that parent demoralization and support for learning are distinct constructs that independently influence child school readiness. Direct and indirect (mediated) models of association were examined.

Methods

117 kindergarten children with low literacy and language skills and their parents were recruited from three Northeastern school districts serving primarily low-income families. Parents reported on their own depressive symptoms, parenting difficulties, attitudes and behaviors related to learning activities, and the frequency of parent–child conversation at home. Teachers rated child school readiness, as indicated by classroom behaviors, approaches to learning, and emergent language and literacy skills.

Results

In a factor analysis, parent demoralization and support for learning emerged as distinct constructs. Structural equation models revealed that parent demoralization was negatively associated with child school readiness, whereas parent support for learning was positively associated with child school readiness. Neither parenting construct mediated the effect of the other.

Conclusions

Among low-income families with children at high risk for school difficulties, parental demoralization and support of learning opportunities at home appear to independently influence child school readiness. Thus, parent-based interventions targeting child school readiness would likely benefit from enhancing both parental self-efficacy and provision of learning activities.     

An Evaluation of Family Literacy Bags as a Vehicle for Parent Involvement

Early childhood scholars concur that books and interactive reading between adults and children strongly support children's reading achievement. Furthermore, they argue for the importance of involving families in their children's education. The Family Literacy Bags (FLB) project described and evaluated here, is a parent involvement and education innovation designed to engage children and their families in reading books at home. To meet the diversity of family needs, some of the FLB contained materials in both Spanish and English. Findings from this inquiry conducted in four primarily rural, middle class school districts in the west, suggest that the FLB project encouraged home book reading in families. Furthermore, parents learned effective ways to read and discuss books with their children, new information about availability of various books, and information about their children's developing language skills. Children demonstrated an initial and sustained interest in the FLB project. Suggestions for further research and parent education are discussed.     

Interactional style of teachers and parents during bilingual instruction: Linguistic and cognitive attributes

Spanish/English bilingual kindergarten teachers and parents serving as instructional aides in these same bilingual education classrooms served as subjects. Audio-video recordings of small group instruction for teachers and parents were subjected to a lesson discourse analysis. Of interest was the qualitative character of teacher/parent interaction with specific attention to linguistic and cognitive attributes. Results indicate that both teacher and parent interaction is highly “teacher” oriented with both dominating lesson discourse and keeping children to the topic. However, parents were much more flexible in allowing child oriented topics. Such a mismatch between teachers and parents is discussed with regard to language development needs of language minority students in early childhood.     

JCHI EDITOR'S SELECT SITES

Abstract

1on1health^(r) is the free consumer health Web site of GlaxoSmithKline that provides information on 17 health topics in English and 11 in Spanish. Booklets are available in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Users can watch videos, hear people talk about living with the various conditions, and take quizzes or do activities to learn more about the topic. Although limited to a small number of topics, 1on1health is a unique and excellent resource for health care consumers. doi:10.1300/J381v11n02_07     

Home literacy beliefs and practices among low-income Latino families

The aim of this study was to explore within-group patterns of variability in the home literacy environments (HLEs) of low-income Latino families using latent profile analysis. Participants were (N?=?193) families of Latino preschoolers enrolled in a larger study. In the fall of 2012, mothers filled out a family literacy practices inventory, a literacy beliefs inventory, and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Results revealed three psychometrically distinct HLE profiles. Profile 1 (37%), labelled Low Beliefs, Low Practices (LBLP), was characterized by very low incomes, low caregiver education, reading infrequently to children, primarily speaking Spanish and reported lowest literacy beliefs and practices. Profile 2 (16%), labelled Moderate Beliefs, Moderate Practices (MBMP), was also low income, had few books in the home, read in both English and Spanish to their children, and held moderately facilitative literacy beliefs and practices. Profile 3 (47%), labelled High Beliefs, High Practices (HBHP), reported the highest literacy beliefs and practices, highest percentage English-speaking, read more often to children, and had more books in the home. These findings highlight considerable variability in terms of literacy beliefs and practices among Latino families. The profiles have practical relevance in terms of children's readiness at school entry and working with their families.     

Accelerating Early Language and Literacy Skills Through a Preschool-Home Partnership Using Dialogic Reading: a Randomized Trial

Background

This study tested a preschool-home partnership intervention, in which early childhood teachers encouraged the parents/caregivers of preschoolers to engage in dialogic reading at home. This was an experimental test of Bronfenbrenner’s hypothesis that parental involvement in early care and education programs should promote child development, as well as a test of a train-the-trainer approach to the dialogic reading intervention.

Objective

The current study focuses on testing the causality of parent involvement: (1) homework assigned to parents/caregivers will improve the early language and literacy skills of their 2?~?3-year-old children; (2) gains by children in the intervention group with low pre-test language and literacy score, low family literacy score, and high parents/caregivers’ extent of using dialogic reading strategies at home will show larger gains in literacy scores than their counterparts.

Methods

A sample of 12 early care and education programs, 18 early childhood teachers, 87 two–to three-year-old children and their parents/caregivers were followed for 18?~?20 weeks after assignment to the intervention group or the control group.

Results

The impacts of the six-week parent involvement intervention continued to grow during the six-week follow-up phase, and represented substantial gains of the intervention group in four aspects of early language and literacy skills.

Conclusion

This study provides evidence that a simple homework assignment intervention can be an effective tool to promote child development when parents/caregivers are engaged. The intervention also had ongoing influence on children’s early language and literacy skills, even after the intervention period had ended.

     

Family engagement in literacy activities: revised factor structure for The Familia – an instrument examining family support for early literacy development

This study evaluated a data-set drawn using The Familia – a measure originally developed to evaluate shared-reading activities. A newly developed set of conceptual supports and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were applied to a new factor structure/model. Data were drawn from 219 young children and their families (mean age = 43 months) participating in a longitudinal intervention study of early childhood school readiness. The new factor model, using recent conceptual frameworks in early literacy, included the factors. Family engagement in learning, Family involvement in school activities and exposure to printed materials. The CFA indicated that the model demonstrated acceptable fit to the data and additional analyses demonstrated that the factors/scales produced acceptable reliability and validity statistics. The revised factors and scales present conceptually based, efficient, valid and reliable indices of family contributions to young children’s literacy development for use in early literacy or school readiness research and related applications.     

Acquisition of Multiple Languages Among Children of Immigrant Families: Parents' Role in the Home-School Language Pendulum

This study examined immigrant parents' role in their young children's language learning and development in linguistically different contexts in Chicago. At home the children lived with parents who spoke little or no English. At school the children were taught by mostly English speaking teachers, occasionally with teacher aides who spoke some of the other languages the children understood. The children had to operate in two linguistic worlds that were considerably different. The study sought to explain the means by which immigrant parents helped their children learn English effectively and also maintain their mother tongue. Five data collection instruments were used in the study: a parent questionnaire, an activity chart, audio recorders, an observation guide during home visits and parent interviews. The parent interviews were conducted towards the end of the study as a means to triangulate information and to crosscheck and clarify meanings of the data from the other instruments. The study revealed that parents' roles included different factors that supported children's learning of the languages. The factors included: the parents' attitudes towards language in general, parents' interest in both mother tongue and English, joint parent-child activities and direct, linguistic exchange between child and parent. Other factors included teacher flexibility, teacher-parent communication, parents' English classes school support, and parents' sensitivity to school support. Problems faced by parents and teachers included parents' lack of English proficiency to communicate effectively about children's school learning, and lack of effective linguistic link between home learning and school learning.     

Improving Patient-Provider Communication: Evolution of a Tool to Assess Physical Therapist Students’ Spanish-Language Proficiency

ABSTRACT

Communication is at the foundation of safe and effective health care. When patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) have healthcare providers who do not speak their language, the communication barrier can lead to poor outcomes. Responding to the high number of Spanish-speaking individuals with LEP, a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program has integrated Spanish-language training in the curriculum. This paper describes their development and pilot testing of the Physical Therapy Spanish Proficiency Measure (PT-SPM). The PT-SPM was developed for English-Spanish bilingual faculty or clinicians to assess DPT students’ clinically relevant Spanish communication. The PT-SPM has 11 total items with four subscales: verbal proficiency, aural proficiency, written proficiency, and cultural competence. Twenty-three pairs of DPT students and their bilingual clinical instructors were recruited for an interrater agreement study; each used the PT-SPM to independently rate the student’s Spanish communication with Spanish-speaking patients with LEP in clinical settings. Cohen’s weighted kappa was calculated to evaluate interrater agreement between the students and clinicians on item level, using linear incremental weights. The weighted kappa coefficients ranged from 0.35 (fair agreement) to 0.80 (substantial agreement). All weighted kappa coefficients were statistically significant. Two items had fair agreement; four items had moderate agreement, and five items had substantial agreement. These results support that the PT-SPM may have value as an assessment tool for DPT students in clinical settings. Educators in other health professions may consider adapting the PT-SPM. This paper contributes to the broader interprofessional dialogue about how to assess and improve patient-provider communication.     

Root Shock Revisited: Perspectives of Early Head Start Mothers on Community and Policy Environments and Their Effects on Child Health,Development, and School Readiness

Racial differences in school readiness are a form of health disparity. By examining, from the perspective of low-income minority families participating in an Early Head Start study, community and policy environments as they shape and inform lived experiences, we identified several types of social and economic dislocation that undermine the efforts of parents to ready their children for school.The multiple dislocations of community triggered by housing and welfare reform and “urban renewal” are sources of stress for parents and children and affect the health and development of young children. Our findings suggest that racial differences in school readiness result not from race but from poverty and structural racism in American society.

It was more families there. Here it is pretty much individuals. They don''t interact as neighbors. They act as enemies. I don''t have very many friends here. So it''s hard, like, [I can''t ask] “What was it like when your daughter went to kindergarten?” You can''t do that here.—Mother involved in Early Head Start study who was relocated by HOPE VI

SCHOOL READINESS IS AT the heart of current debate on the health and development of young children. Policy discussions focus on the supposed lack of readiness of children in low-income and minority families and on racial and economic “readiness gaps.”¹ In a previous article, we addressed these issues by privileging the voices of low-income, predominantly African American parents to discern meanings of school readiness for them and their efforts to ready their children for school.² What remained unexamined were community and policy influences on school readiness as experienced by study families. In this article, we elaborate on this theme by suggesting new directions in public health research intended to eliminate health disparities.     

The power of culture and context on Hispanic/Latina teen pregnancy and birth in Oklahoma: provider and parental perspectives

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore cultural-contextual factors that impact the high rate of Hispanic/Latina teen pregnancy in Oklahoma from the perspective of providers and parents. Methods: Community Based Participatory Research at the Latino Community Development Agency in Oklahoma City; focus groups and in-depth interviews; 33 service providers and 14 Hispanic/Latino parents. Results: (a) The value of respect among Hispanic/Latino families is a risk factor for unplanned teen pregnancy. (b) Contextual aspects (i.e. local ideology, Mexican media, underfunded schools, permissive law enforcement in bars, lack of bilingual providers) place Hispanic/Latina female adolescents at greater risk of unplanned pregnancy. (c) Gender roles perpetuate inequality and deepen Hispanic/Latina females’ vulnerability to unplanned pregnancy. Conclusions: In addition to currently implemented communication tools and parenting skills to talk with adolescents about sexual health topics, interventions need to consider preferences that may be rooted in cultural aspects that could hinder the application of learned skills.     

Associations between in-the-moment behavior of children,family literacy program use,and Latina mother-child book reading

ABSTRACT

This study examined how in-the-moment behaviour of children and family literacy programme use are associated with the affective quality of mother–child interactions and the content of maternal utterances that occurred during book reading. Ninety-Two Latina mother–child dyads were included. Mothers frequently exhibited warm/positive behaviour and discussed the immediate content of the book. Children were highly engaged and many of them alternated between English and Spanish when discussing the content of the book. Language mixing of children was positively associated with the number of maternal utterances on the immediate content of the book, while negatively associated with that on reading the text. Child’s engagement in book reading was associated with the affective quality of mother–child interactions, but not with the content of maternal utterances. Family literacy programme use, especially parent–child interactive literacy activities service was positively associated with the number of maternal utterances on the content of the book.     

Acculturation and Parent-Adolescent Communication about Sex in Filipino-American Families: A Community-Based Participatory Research Study

PurposeTo examine whether acculturation is associated with parent-adolescent communication about sex in Filipino-American families. Filipino-Americans, the United States’ second-largest Asian and Pacific Islander (API) group, have more adolescent pregnancy and HIV infection than other APIs. High-quality parent-adolescent communication about sex has been associated with healthy sexual development, and acculturation has been associated with various increased health risks. Whether acculturation affects parent-adolescent communication is unknown.MethodsWe surveyed 120 pairs of Filipino-American parents and adolescents at a single large high school. We asked adolescents about their frequency of parent-adolescent communication about sex and measured adolescent acculturation in two ways: disagreement with traditional Asian values and preferential use of English. In bivariate and multivariate regressions, we examined whether adolescent acculturation was associated with adolescent reports of parent-adolescent communication.ResultsFew adolescents (22%) reported regularly discussing sex with parents. Although most adolescents (72%) agreed with traditional Asian values, most (63%) preferred using English. In bivariate regressions, less parent-adolescent communication about sex was associated with less adolescent agreement with traditional Asian values (p = .002) and more adolescent English use (p = .009). In multivariate regressions, these associations were largely explained by adolescent perceptions of parent knowledge about their whereabouts and activities.ConclusionsAcculturation may influence Filipino-American parent-adolescent communication about sex and, consequently, Filipino-American adolescent sexual health. Health care and public health providers may need to tailor adolescent sexual health programs based on acculturation or other immigration-related factors.     

Second-language-acquisition developmental differences: exploring migrant children’s language production in a daycare setting

ABSTRACT

Learning a new language and culture may be particularly difficult for families in the United States supported by migrant workers, who typically work long hours and live a mobile lifestyle. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the interaction patterns (i.e. use of the Spanish and English languages) among native-Spanish-speaking children at a migrant daycare. Twenty-five children (aged two to nine) were observed during various activities across two periods. Interactional patterns were examined among children, employees and children, and parents and children. The essence of interactional patterns found included: (1) information, (2) collective language knowledge, and (3) learning. The children’s use of the English or Spanish language stemmed from their interlocutor and conversational goals.     

The Canadian Health Network “Health Info for Every Body”

ABSTRACT

The Canadian Health Network (CHN) is a national, nonprofit, bilingual, Web-based health information service funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Its purpose is to help Canadians find timely and accurate information on staying healthy and preventing disease. CHN is a unique collaboration of national and provincial/territorial non-profit organizations, as well as universities, hospitals, libraries, and community organizations. CHN links to more than 17,000, full-text English and French Canadian Web-based resources providing in-depth information on 27 key topics. In addition, the CHN site presents feature articles; monthly health events highlights; featured resources and organizations; frequently-asked questions; and links to Health Canada features and recent health publications.     

A Rapid Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on Asian Americans: Cross-sectional Survey Study

BackgroundThe diverse Asian American population has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but due to limited data and other factors, disparities experienced by this population are hidden.ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the Asian American community’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, California, and to better inform a Federally Qualified Health Center’s (FQHC) health care services and response to challenges faced by the community.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey between May 20 and June 23, 2020, using a multipronged recruitment approach, including word-of-mouth, FQHC patient appointments, and social media posts. The survey was self-administered online or administered over the phone by FQHC staff in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. Survey question topics included COVID-19 testing and preventative behaviors, economic impacts of COVID-19, experience with perceived mistreatment due to their race/ethnicity, and mental health challenges.ResultsAmong 1297 Asian American respondents, only 3.1% (39/1273) had previously been tested for COVID-19, and 46.6% (392/841) stated that they could not find a place to get tested. In addition, about two-thirds of respondents (477/707) reported feeling stressed, and 22.6% (160/707) reported feeling depressed. Furthermore, 5.6% (72/1275) of respondents reported being treated unfairly because of their race/ethnicity. Among respondents who experienced economic impacts from COVID-19, 32.2% (246/763) had lost their regular jobs and 22.5% (172/763) had reduced hours or reduced income. Additionally, 70.1% (890/1269) of respondents shared that they avoid leaving their home to go to public places (eg, grocery stores, church, and school).ConclusionsWe found that Asian Americans had lower levels of COVID-19 testing and limited access to testing, a high prevalence of mental health issues and economic impacts, and a high prevalence of risk-avoidant behaviors (eg, not leaving the house) in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings provide preliminary insights into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Asian American communities served by an FQHC and underscore the longstanding need for culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches to providing mental health, outreach, and education services. These findings led to the establishment of the first Asian multilingual and multicultural COVID-19 testing sites in the local area where the study was conducted, and laid the groundwork for subsequent COVID-19 programs, specifically contact tracing and vaccination programs.     

Communication on Sexuality Between Parents and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

The objective of this systematic review was to identify and analyze the information available on sexual communication between parents and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Medline/PubMed, Lilacs, Ebsco, Embase, Scielo, Google Scholar, Scirus and Redalyc databases were used to find articles. The inclusion criteria were studies published in indexed databases in English, Spanish and Portuguese with a quantitative and qualitative approach in full text, studies that include a population of parents of adolescents with ASD and adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age with a diagnosis of ASD, and studies that covered communication about sexuality. Keywords combined with Boolean operators were used. Three topics were identified that covered the communication of parents and adolescents with ASD: sexual issues, parents' romantic expectations, and sexual experiences. This systematic review highlights the need for training of health professionals and sex education programs for parents of adolescents with ASD.

     

Short Assessment of Health Literacy��Spanish and English: A Comparable Test of Health Literacy for Spanish and English Speakers

Objective. The intent of the study was to develop and validate a comparable health literacy test for Spanish‐speaking and English‐speaking populations. Study Design. The design of the instrument, named the Short Assessment of Health Literacy—Spanish and English (SAHL‐S&E), combined a word recognition test, as appearing in the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), and a comprehension test using multiple‐choice questions designed by an expert panel. We used the item response theory (IRT) in developing and validating the instrument. Data Collection. Validation of SAHL‐S&E involved testing and comparing the instrument with other health literacy instruments in a sample of 201 Spanish‐speaking and 202 English‐speaking subjects recruited from the Ambulatory Care Center at the University of North Carolina Healthcare System. Principal Findings. Based on IRT analysis, 18 items were retained in the comparable test. The Spanish version of the test, SAHL‐S, was highly correlated with other Spanish health literacy instruments, Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Spanish‐Speaking Adults (r=0.88, p<.05) and the Spanish Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) (r=0.62, p<.05). The English version, SAHL‐E, had high correlations with REALM (r=0.94, p<.05) and the English TOFHLA (r=0.68, p<.05). Significant correlations were found between SAHL‐S&E and years of schooling in both Spanish‐ and English‐speaking samples (r=0.15 and 0.39, respectively). SAHL‐S&E displayed satisfactory reliability of 0.80 and 0.89 in the Spanish‐ and English‐speaking samples, respectively. IRT analysis indicated that the SAHL‐S&E score was highly reliable for individuals with a low level of health literacy. Conclusions. The new instrument, SAHL‐S&E, has good reliability and validity. It is particularly useful for identifying individuals with low health literacy and could be used to screen for low health literacy among Spanish and English speakers.